landon



WJTWSSES (No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

G. W. LANDON.

AUTOMATIC PIRE EXTINGUISHER AND ALARM.

No. 323,160.l Patented July 28, 1885.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. W. LANDON.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHBR AND ALARM..

(NO Model.)

Patented Jul IWT/EW'TOR.,

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N. PETERS, Phulu-Lilhognpher. washington. n.0.

GEORGE NV. LANDON, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND,

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER AND ALARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 323,160, dated July 2,8, 1885.

Application lcd June 3, 1885. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GEoRGE IV. LANDON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Chemical Fire Extinguishers and Alarms, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an automatic chemical fire extinguisher and alarm. 4

One object of the invention is to provide an apparatus embracing two receptacles, each of which shall contain chambers for holding separately an acid and an alkaline solution, and which apparatus shall be suspended, preferably, near the ceiling of a room, and so arranged that in case of fire one of said receptacles will drop to the floor while the other will remain suspended, and at the same moment the acid and alkaline solution in each re`ceptacle will be mingled, and thereby produce carbonio-acid gas, the pressure of which will explode each receptacle-the one near the lioor and the other near the ceiling.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a receptacle containing acid and alkaline solutions arranged as and to operate as described, and so combined with a bell or other audible alarm that upon the fall or explosion of the receptacle the said alarm will sound.

The construction of the apparatus whereby the desired result is accomplished will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings,which illustrate what is deemed the best means of carrying the invention into effeet.

Figure l is a section view of the room of ar house wherein the apparatus and alarm are arranged according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a View on a large scale of the apparatus, giving a side view of one receptacle and a section view of the other. Fig. 3 is a side view transverse to that shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a top view of one of the acid-receptacles.

The letter A designates the ceiling of aroom; B and B, two receptacles. One of these receptacles, B, is suspended or supported by a strap or band, C, or other suitable means, from the ceiling, and the other, B', is suspended by a balanced bar, D, pivoted by its center c to the suspensory strap or band C.

These receptacles may be made of tin-plate or other material, Aand may have any desired shape, and each is provided on top with an opening, b, having a cover, b', of lead or other non-corrosive material. The opening and cover' may have any desired shape and be fitted in any suitable manner. In the present instance the opening has a flared rim or flange, b2, (see Fig. 2,) and the cover b is seated within the flared rim and cemented or otherwise fastened thereto in any suitable manner. This receptacle contains the alkaline solution, and also the smaller chamber or receptacle E, which holds the acid solution. The acid-receptacle should be made of lead or some other material (glass, for instance) which is not acted on by acid. It has a cross-bar, c, just below its top rim, and said rim fits in or occupies an annular groove, d, in the lower surface of the cover. A rod, e, has one end made fast to the cross-bar c of the acid-receptacle, passes freely through a hole, c, in the cover, and above the cover is attached to the balanced bar D by a small pin, f. The cover b has a plugged opening, g, within the circle of the annular groove d, and by removing this plug the receptacle E may be filled with acid through the opening. Both of the receptacles B and B are constructed and arranged alike.

To`provide for automatically mingling the acid and alkaline solutions and for dropping one of the receptacles from its elevated position, the balanced bar D, the rods e, or the small pins f, connecting the rods with the bar, should be made of a metal which fuses at a comparatively low degree of heat-say, about 150 Fahrenheit. Some alloy into which bismuth enters in large proportions will answer for this purpose. It is immaterial as to how this readily-fusible part is made. In the present instance the rod e has such length that when the small acid-receptacleE drops to the bottom of the large receptacle the rod e will not withdraw from the hole e in the cover, but will continue to occupy said hole, and thereby prevent the escape of gas. The rods e each have a hole for the pins f, by which the rod is sustained, and by making said pins f of the readily-fusible metal they will soon melt in case of fire, resulting in the small acidreceptacle E in the suspended receptacle B dropping in the alkaline solution, whereupon the commingling of the two solutions will at once take place, and the resulting carbonicacid gas will cause the said receptacle to eX- plode. At the same time the melting of the rod-pin f of the other large receptacle, B,will allow it to drop to the door, and the small acid-receptacle therein will also drop from its position and cause a commingling of the two solutions, and the explosion will take place at the floor H. It will be seen that one receptacle, B, is sustained by its suspensory band or strap, C, while the other receptacle, B', is sustained solely by the readily-fusible fastening connecting the balanced bar D and the rods e. An alarm bell, m, may be mounted at any convenient or desired place-say, in an upper or lower room or in a hallway. A hammer, o, is arranged to .strike the bell, and a spring and suitable clock-work mechanism are employed to work the hammer. A springtrip, t, holds the mechanism in check which drives the hammer, and a wire or cord, I, connects the receptacle B with the said spring-trip. rlhe wire is coiled up so as to keep it from hanging below the receptacle. As the wire is soft, the coils will be readily stretched when the receptacle falls to the floor. The length of the wire is such that it will not quite reach the fioor. This is to insure that the falling receptacle Bwill,through the wire-connection, certainly draw the springtrip t, and thereby cause the alarm to be sounded. Any well -known bell and clock work mechanism may be used-such, for instance, as are employed for burglar-alarms. An example ofsuch devices is shown and dtsf-ribed in L tters Patent of the United States N o. 178,875, to which reference is made. It is therefore deemed unnecessary to more particularly describe the same.

The alkaline and acid solutions are of the kind usually employed in chemical fire-extinguishers which are designed to produce carbonio-acid gas.

The operation of the apparatus will be fully understood from the foregoing description.

Having described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United Statesl. An automatic chemical fire-extinguisher having, in combination, a receptacle for containing an alkaline solution, and having an opening, a cover of non-corrosive material securely fastened over the opening of the alkaline-receptacle, an opentop acid-receptacleinclosed in the alkalinereceptacle withl its top rim in contact with the lower side of the aforesaid cover, and a supporting-rod, e, passed through the cover, holding the acid-receptacle up against the cover and above the cover suspended by a readily-fusible fastening, whereby when the said fastening melts the acid-re ceptacle will drop in the alkaline solution, and the alkaline-receptacle itself will drop to the floor, as set forth.

2. An automatic chemical fire-extinguisher having, in combination, a receptacle, B, for containing an alkaline solution, a support for said receptacle, a smaller open-topped receptacle, E, for acid inclosed in the alkaline-receptacle,a second alkalinereceptacle,also containing an acid-receptacle, abalaneed bar, D, above the two alkaline-receptacles, and two rods, e, each attached by areadily-fusible fast'- ening to an opposite end of the balanced bar, and each rod passed through the top of an alkaline-receptacle and attached to the inner acid-receptacle, whereby the first alkaline-receptacle may explode at an elevated position, and the second alkaline-receptacle and its inclosed acid-receptacle are sustained by the readily-fusible fastening and may explode near the floor, as set forth.

In testimony ,whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE WV. LANDON.

Witnesses:

J No. T. MADDoX, Cialis. B. MANN. 

